ARTICLE 10

At the expiration of each period of ten years after the coming into force of this Convention, the Governing Body of the International Labor Office shall present to the General Conference a report on the working of this Convention and shall consider the desirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference the question of its revision in whole or in part.

ARTICLE 11

1. Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising this Convention in whole or in part, then, unless the new Convention otherwise provides,

(a) The ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention shall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 7 above, if and when the new revising Convention shall have come into force;

(b) As from the date when the new revising Convention comes into force this Convention shall cease to be open to ratification by the Members.

2. This Convention shall in any case remain in force in its actual form and content for those Members which have ratified it but have not ratified the revising Convention.

ARTICLE 12

The English and French versions of the text of this Convention are equally authoritative.

UNDERSTANDINGS BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

The above convention was ratified by the United States Government with the following Understandings:

"It is the understanding of the Government of the United States of America that nothing in this Convention will interfere with the practice in the United States of America of issuing limited certificates as able seamen to persons of less service or training than prescribed in the convention and of the signing of such person, who are considered as holding an intermediate rating which is outside the terms of the convention; and

"It is the understanding of the Government of the United States of America that this Convention shall apply to seagoing vessels only, and for this purpose the words 'seagoing vessel' shall mean a merchant vessel of more than 100 gross tons, which in the usual course of her employment proceeds outside the line dividing the inland waters from the high seas as defined under section 2 of the Act of February 19, 1895, 28 Stat. 672, as amended (U.S.C., title 33, sec. 151)."

Record of certificates of service

46 U.S.C. 672(c)

Each Coast Guard official shall keep a complete record of all certificates of service issued by him and to whom issued and shall keep on file the affidavits and records of examinations upon which said certificates are issued.

Muster of crew on motion or information; rules and regulations; examination of applicant for certificate of service as able seaman; surrender of certificates; new certificates

46 U.S.C. 672(d)

The collector of customs may upon his own motion, and shall, upon the sworn information of any reputable citizen of the United States setting forth that this section is not being complied with, cause a muster of the crew of any vessel to be made to determine the fact, at which muster said reputable citizen must be present; and no clearance shall be given to any vessel failing to comply with the provisions of this section: Provided, That the collector of customs shall not be required to cause such muster of the crew to be made unless said sworn information has been filed with him for at least six hours before the vessel departs, or is scheduled to depart: Provided further, That any person that shall knowingly make a false affidavit for such purpose shall be deemed guilty of perjury and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $500 or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, within the discretion of the court. Any violation of any provision of this section by the owner, master, or officer in charge of the vessel shall subject the owner of such vessel to a penalty of not less than $100 and not more than $500: Provided further, That the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall make such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section, and nothing herein shall be held or construed to prevent the Commandant of the Coast Guard from making rules and regulations authorized by law as to vessels excluded from the operation of this section: And provided further, That no certificate of service as able seaman shall be issued by the Coast Guard until after examination of the applicant therefor, under rules and regulations prescribed by the Commandant of the Coast Guard as to his efficiency, and upon proof, as a result of such examination, that he has been trained in and is acquainted with the duties entitling him to such rating. No seaman shall be considered as "able seaman" within the meaning of the laws of the United States relating to the manning of vessels unless he is in possession of such certificate issued by the board of local inspectors or the Coast Guard. All certificates as "able seaman" and "lifeboatman" issued by the several boards of local inspectors or other Federal officers prior to June 25, 1936, shall, within six months thereafter, be surrendered to such boards of local inspectors for cancellation, and there shall be issued in lieu thereof to all able seamen and lifeboatmen found qualified by such examination new certificates as required by law: Provided, That if due to inability on the part of the Department of Commerce to carry out the provisions of this subsection with regard to all seamen, the Secretary of Commerce may, in his discretion, extend the time for a period not to exceed three months. Such new certificates shall be stamped with the seal of the board of local inspectors or the Coast Guard, placed partially over the signature of the applicant for such certificate; and there shall be attached thereto a photograph of the applicant. Any other safeguards which, in the judgment of the Commandant of

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the Coast Guard, may be necessary and advisable to establish the authenticity of the certificate, are hereby authorized.

Members of the engine department

46 U.S.C. 672(e)

No vessel to which this section applies may be navigated unless all of the complement in her engine department above the rating of coal passer or wiper and below the rating of licensed officer shall be holders of a certificate of service as a qualified member of the engine department. The Coast Guard shall, upon application and examination as to competence and physical condition, as prescribed by the Commandant of the Coast Guard, issue such a certificate of service. An applicant for such rating shall produce to such inspectors definite proof of at least six months' service at sea in a rating at least equal to that of coal passer or wiper in the engine department of vessels required by this Act to have such certificated men or proof that he is a graduate of a school ship approved by and conducted under rules prescribed by the Commandant of the Coast Guard.

Rules as to certificates of service or efficiency

- 46 U.S.C. 672(f)

As to the certificates of service or efficiency, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall promulgate rules covering the form, contents, and manner of issuance, which shall include a provision that copies of these and all documents pertaining thereto be filed in the local offices and in the central office in Washington.

Certificates of service for other ratings

46 U.S.C. 672(g)

The Coast Guard shall, without examination (except food handlers who must be free from communicable disease), issue to all members of the crews of merchant vessels of the United States (except licensed officers), certificates of service for ratings other than as able seaman or a qualified member of the engine department, which certificates shall authorize them to serve in the capacities specified in such certificates: Provided, That such certificates shall not issue before oath has been taken before a Coast Guard official that the applicant therefor will faithfully and honestly perform all the duties required of him by law, and carry out the lawful orders of his superior officers on shipboard and, in the case of a radio operator, shall produce to the Coast Guard his unexpired license issued by the Federal Communications Commission to act in that capacity: And provided further, That when a certificate has been revoked or suspended under the provisions of subsection (h) of this section, a new certificate shall not be issued until the Coast Guard shall determine that the issue of such new certificate is compatible with the requirements of good discipline and safety at sea.

Suspension or revocation of certificates of service or efficiency 46 U.S.C. 672(h)

All certificates of service or efficiency issued by the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation or the Coast Guard shall be subject to suspension or revocation on the same grounds and in the same manner and with like procedure as is provided in the case of suspension or revocation of licenses of officers under the provisions of section 239 of this title.

Penalty for service without certificate of service

46 U.S.C. 672(i)

It shall be unlawful to employ any person, or for any person to serve aboard any merchant vessel of the United States, below the rating of licensed officer, who has not a certificate of service issued by a board of local inspectors or the Coast Guard and anyone violating this section shall be liable to a penalty of $100 for each offense.

Freedom of seaman unimpaired

46 U.S.C. 672(k)

Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose, sanction, or permit any condition of involuntary servitude nor to prevent any seaman from leaving the service of any vessel when in a safe harbor to the same extent and with like effect as under the provisions of existing law.

Exceptions to section 672; unrigged vessels, tugs, and towboats 46 U.S.C. 672b

The provisions of section 672 of this title, requiring the manning of certain merchant vessels by persons holding certificates of service or efficiency issued by the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation or the Coast Guard shall not apply as to unrigged vessels, except seagoing barges, and that, insofar as said provisions apply to tugs and towboats, the said provisions are hereby modified as follows:

(a) Able seamen shall not be required in the deck crew of tugs and towboats on the bays and sounds connected directly with the seas, and every person may be rated an able seaman for the purpose of serving on tugs and towboats on the seas who is nineteen years of age and upwards and who has had at least eighteen months of service on deck at sea or on the Great Lakes or on the bays and sounds connected directly with the seas; and

(b) Service and rating at least equal to that of coal passer or wiper in the engine department of tugs and towboats operating on the seas or Great Lakes or on the bays and sounds connected directly with the seas shall be considered as meeting the requirement of subsection (e) of section 672 of this title which requires that an applicant for rating under that subsection shall produce to the Coast Guard definite proof of at least six months' service at sea in a rating at least equal to that of coal passer or wiper in the engine department of vessels required by said section to have such certificated men.

Nothing in this section shall restrict or modify any of the other provisions of section 672 of this title which must be complied with before the certificates therein authorized can be granted.

Definitions

46 U.S.C. 672c

When used in sections 643a, 660b, and 672b of this title

(1) The term "unrigged vessel" means any vessel that is not self-propelled;

(2) The term "seagoing barge" means any barge which from its design and construction may be reasonably expected to encounter and ride out the ordinary perils of the seas and which in fact in the usual course of its operations passes outside the line dividing inland waters from the high seas, as defined in section 151 of title 33.

Application of sections 643, 660a, 672, 672a, 673, 689, and 710a to fishing or whaling vessels or yachts

46 U.S.C. 690

No provision of sections 660a, 672a, 689 and 710a of this title and no amendment to sections 643, 672 and 673 of this title made by Act June 25, 1936, ch. 816, 49 Stat. 1930, shall apply to fishing or whaling vessels or yachts: Provided, however, That the provisions of sections 643, 672 and 673 of this title as they existed prior to June 25, 1936, shall continue in effect insofar as they are applicable to said vessels or yachts with like force and effect as if sections 660a, 672a, 689 and 710a of this title had not been passed. (June 25, 1936, ch. 816, § 8, 49 Stat. 1936.)

Separability of sections 643, 660a, 672, 672a, 673, 689, and 710a 46 U.S.C. 691

If any provision of sections 643, 660a, 672, 672a, 673, 689 and 710a of this title, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of said sections, and the application of the provisions thereof, shall not be affected thereby. (June 25, 1936, ch. 816, § 9, 49 Stat. 1936.)

Soliciting seamen as lodgers

46 U.S.C. 709 (R.S. 4607)

If, within twenty-four hours after the arrival of any vessel at any port in the United States, any person, then being on board such vessel, solicits any seaman to become a lodger at the house of any person letting lodgings for hire, or takes out of such vessel any effects of any seaman, except under his personal direction, and with the permission of the master, he shall, for every such offense, be punishable by a fine of not more than $50, or by imprisonment for not more than three months. This section shall apply to vessels of the United States engaged in the foreign trade and to foreign vessels. (R.S. § 4607; Apr. 13, 1904, ch. 1252, § 1, 33 Stat. 174.)